VW Forward: Renovations could begin in early August
This map shows the three areas (in dark pink) included in Phase 1 of the Van Wert Forward downtown development project.
DAVE MOSIER/
independent editor
The Van Wert Forward downtown development project is still… um… moving forward, with the exciting news that major work is tentatively set to begin on buildings in Phase 1 this August.
On Friday, those Van Wert County Foundation (VWCF) staff members actively working on the downtown project Executive Secretary Seth Baker, Development Manager Amanda Miller, and Property Manager Hall Block sat down to talk about various aspects of the work, including what has occurred and what is likely to occur in the relatively near future.
Council prepares DORA legislation; OKs fence measure thevwindependent.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thevwindependent.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
DAVE MOSIER/
independent editor
Van Wert City Council adopted a number of end-of-year housekeeping fiscal measures and the 2021 permanent appropriations ordinance during a brief final meeting Monday to close out 2020.
First Ward Councilman Jeff Agler takes notes while presiding over Monday’s Van Wert City Council meeting for the first time in the planned absence of Council President Jon Tomlinson. Second Ward Councilman Joi Mergy was also absent and was excused.
Dave Mosier/Van Wert independent
Council approved salary ordinances that cover employees in the various city departments, as well as Van Wert Municipal Court, as well as permanent appropriations legislation for the coming year, on third and final reading.
DAVE MOSIER/
independent editor
Although it is a pile of rubble now, the Home Guards Temple Building was one of the city’s most luxurious structures when completed in 1906. While not as old as some downtown buildings that date to the late 1800s, its 114-year existence lasted far longer than the organization that built it.
The Home Guards Temple building in its heyday as one of Van Wert’s premier downtown buildings.
archival photos
The Home Guards of America was the brainchild of Dr. George J. Eblen, a local physician who envisioned a fraternal organization created to provide life and accident insurance exclusively to its members. He founded the Home Guards of America with his brother-in-law, John W. Evans. Other founding members of the organization included Common Pleas Judge Hiram C. Glenn and local businessmen Hugh V. Olney, Henry G. Lehmann, and Captain J.B. Smith, a former city mayor.